Avatar: The Legend of Oland: Book 1: Revelation
by a3grimreaper
Summary: The new Avatar, an earthbender, has been discovered in the new Democratic Earth Nation. Although much later than most Avatars. Will he forsake his entire life and everything he has known just to perform a duty that a complete stranger claims he owes to the world?
1. Prologue

Korra stood in front of the newly formed spirit portal in Republic City. Gathered around her was a crowd of reporters, all eager to hear why she had called for a press conference. It had only been a week since Kuivira unleashed her spirit weapon on the city, and created the new portal. As always, Chief Beifong was standing behind her, and President Raiko had decided to show up as well.

Korra decided to begin. "I'm sure you're all wondering why we're here." She said into the microphone. She has done this many times before, but she always got a little stage fright every time. There was just something about public speaking that made her uneasy.

"Just over three years ago, I made the decision to leave the spirit portals open, and allow humans and spirits to live together freely. I believed that we were ready, that Avatar Juan had made a mistake when he separated the spirits from the humans, and that the Avatar shouldn't be the bridge between the two worlds, that there should not be a bridge." Korra continued, "I was wrong. The portals haven't been open for even five years, and already the world has come close to total destruction four different times because of it. So many people have tried to use the power of the spirits to throw the world off balance, to force their ideals on to the world or conquer it."

Korra explained further, "The first was Unalaq, who tried to merge with the spirit of darkness to become a dark Avatar, and now because of it, the spirit is free again, instead of trapped in a prison. No long after, I faced the spirit of a man named Hundun, who had been defeated by the Avatar over a hundred lifetimes ago. He had fled into the spirit world, where he remained trapped until the portals were opened, then he was free to walk out and throw the world out of balance."

"The portals created an energy shift during Harmonic Convergence that brought back the Air Nation, and also gave airbending to the criminal Zaheer, who's visions of Anarchy caused him to use his new abilities to assassinate the Earth Queen, and plunge the entire Earth Kingdom into chaos, which resulted in Kuivira conquering the Earth Kingdom, and transforming it into her Earth Empire, and creating a super weapon that could have destroyed the world," She said, "And so, I have decided to close the spirit portals, so no one else may misuse their powers. The Avatar will once again act as a bridge between the two worlds. I was wrong to leave them open, and so many people have suffered because of it. It ends now."

Korra walked away from the podium and towards the spirit portal, ignoring all the questions that began to be shouted from the reporters in the crowd. She held out her hand, and watched as the portal closed, turning from a beacon of light shining in the sky, to a small orb on the ground. All the spirit vines began to whither away, leaving a small crater, and a completely vine-less, spirit-less Republic City.


	2. Oland

**SEVERAL YEARS LATER**

Oland pulled the rope tight around his hand, as he lowered himself down onto a gemsbok bull. The sport was simple, open the gate and try to stay on the gemsbok bull while he jumped, turned, and twisted. Gemsbok bull riding wasn't a very well known sport, it wasn't nearly as popular as pro-bending, but Oland liked it more, partially because he wasn't a bender. It never bothered him. He didn't need any special powers to win a fight, all he needed were his two swords.

Not many people around were benders. Oland had spent his whole life on a backwater ranch with his parents. The nearest town was small. So small, Oland had yet to see a map that included it. For all Oland knew, the maps were fictional anyways. There was no world outside Shao Ti. He'd heard people talk about it, but he'd never seen it. Oland had decided that the world must be flat, and it fell off sharp a few miles out of town, since whenever someone would leave, they'd never come back. He never understood why anyone would want to leave. From what he'd heard of the outside world, it didn't sound that special. He'd heard about it from old men, who would sit in tea shops and brag about their life adventures (they ran out of stories years ago, so now they keep retelling the same ones over and over) and from the extremely rare traveler, who was usually lost, and ended up in Shao Ti by mistake.

When he was younger, he used to enjoy the stories. He would dream about far away lands, and adventures with benders. There were a few earthbenders in Shao Ti, and that was all Oland had seen until a few years ago, when a few firebenders rode in looking for trouble. What they didn't know was Oland's cousin was a master swordsman, who beat the small group surprisingly easily. After that he trained Oland, and now Oland was just as good as him. He'd heard about waterbenders from listening to pro-bending on the radio, and the old timers would tell stories about people who could bend the air.

The craziest story the old timers would tell was about this "Avatar" fellow, who they claimed could bend all the elements. He'd never believed it. The mere concept was ridiculous. Even if he was real, Oland was sure he could take him, benders had a bad habit of underestimating a guy with swords.

There was no Avatar. No person could bond with a spirit, because there was no such thing as spirits. Oland had never seen one. He'd never seen any evidence that one existed. It was all just stories, made up to pass time in a boring town in the Democratic Earth Nation.

Oland took a deep breath, then nodded his head. The gate swung open, and the gemsbok bull began bucking. There was more than one way to pass the time.

**[A/N: For those who need added context, Oland's character base is essentially a cowboy]**


	3. Kiyomi

Oland was walking down the street, when he heard running foot steps behind him. He didn't think very much about it, until he heard a voice calling his name.

He turned around and saw exactly what he expected, his cousin Kiyomi, the mighty swordmaster. As always, she carried her sword on her back. She always criticized Oland for never carrying his swords around with him, but he didn't see much point. Nothing ever happened. The rare problem that did come up, he could easily fight on his own. His father had trained him in martial arts. He was one of the best at that too. Oland was many things, and strong was half of them.

He realized how much of that his family had given him... training. Training for what? Kiyomi trained him to be an expert with swords, his father taught him martial arts, his grandfather taught him how to be an excellent survivalist, and when he was younger he used to sneak out and meet Kiyomi and his friends. He can walk across a stone floor without making a sound. Put all of it together, and where was he? 19 years old, working on a ranch his family had owned since before the 100 year war, sweating in the sun, and riding gemsbok bulls for fun. He was doomed to a stalemate for the rest of his life. He always complained about how boring Shao Ti was, yet he refused to go anywhere else.

Kiyomi had spent years training with a swordmaster. When she finally came back, she started to teach Oland. She will probably always be better than him, but that doesn't change Oland is pretty talented. Kiyomi only carries a single sword, while Oland prefers two. His cousin was his best friend. They grew up together, almost like brother and sister. They always had each other's back.

"I saw you're ride," Kiyomi hesitated, "It wasn't your best."

"It was a fluke," Oland said, "I'll do better next time."

"That's what you said the last four times." Kiyomi remarked.

"So I've had a few bad runs." Oland replied, "I'm still the best."

"Yeah, the best at getting thrown of your face." Kiyomi scoffed.

"Even hog monkeys fall out of trees every now and then." He said.

"You've been kicked in the head too many times." Kiyomi retorted, trying to end the conversation.

"Maybe you haven't been kicked in the head enough times." Oland replied.

Of course.. he always had to have the last word, "Maybe I'll kick you in the head right now." Kiyomi shot.

"Maybe you should try." Oland shot back.

"Maybe..." Kiyomi stopped, her eyes fixed across the street. "Who is that over there?" She said with a hint of nervousness in her voice, something that was unusual for her. She was usually pretty confident, never afraid of anything.

Oland turned around to look. As soon as he did, Kiyomi delivered a quick round-house kick to the side of his head and took off running.

"Hey!" Oland shouted as he took off after her. He should have seen that trick from a mile away.


	4. Doing Things the Hard Way

Unfortunately for Oland, his cousin could run faster than him. By the time they made it back to their Satomobile, he'd lost all interest in any form of payback. Oland lived several miles outside of Shao Ti. It was usually a 30 minute drive.

As they were starting to get in the satomobile, Kiyomi looked across the street at one of the cafe's, "Remember when we used to sneak out, and come down here to meet some of the kids from school, and listen to the pro-bending matches on the radio?"

"I remember the time you did a terrible job tying up the Ostrich horse, and he got loose, and we had to chase him around all night." Oland remarked.

Kiyomi chuckled, "We didn't get back till sun up. As soon as we got there, we had to turn around and go back for school, we might as well have stayed in town."

They started to get in, when they heard the sound of breaking glass. They turned and looked back at the cafe, in time to see three guys running out the door and turning down an alley. Someone came running out after them, yelling something that sounded like thief. Oland and Kiyomi jumped out of the Satomobile, and took off running down the alley after them. The guys turned left, heading behind a row of buildings.

Oland kept going straight, "Come on! We can cut them off near Beifong Avenue." They winded their way through the alleys, and came out on an empty street, they ran down the street towards the entrance to another alley.

Oland stopped around the corner, and turned towards Kiyomi. He leaned against the wall, and held up his hand, and began to count down with his fingers, "Five... Four... Three... Two..." He stuck his arm out in front of the alley, just as someone came running out and got clothes-lined.

His two friends came out after him, "What's the big idea?"

"Do you think it might have something to do with the cafe you just robbed?" Oland answered, as the first one started to stand back up.

Oland finally got a good luck at them. To his surprise, they were younger than he had expected, only a few years older than his younger brother. He was sure they were still in school, but not for much longer. One of them pulled out a small dagger.

Kiyomi started to pull her sword out and walk forward, "Bet you wish you had your swords right now."

Oland grabbed her arm, stopping her from fully drawing the sword, "Slow down Kiyomi, they're just kids." He looked at the one with the dagger, "Tell you what, how about we turn around, go back to the cafe, return whatever you stole, apologize, and I'm sure..."

The kid jabbed at him with the dagger. Oland stepped to the side and wrapped his arm around the kid's, locking the kid's wrist in his elbow, and the dagger behind his back.

"Ok, guess we're doing this the hard way." He said, as he punched the kid in the nose.

The shock of the blow caused him to drop the dagger. Oland let go of his wrist, and kicked him in the chest, knocking him back into the other two, who then decided to join the fight. They charged at the same time, one started to throw a punch while the other one kicked, both were going to opposite sides his head. Oland held up both his arms and caught the blows. He quickly pushed up on the ankle of the kid who kicked at him, causing the kid to lose his balance and fall to the ground. The other one started to throw another punch with his other arm, but Oland swept his legs out from under and sent him face first into the stone of the sidewalk.

The first kid began to get up and run, but Kiyomi kicked him in the face as he got to his knees, "Sit back down."

Oland turned around and looked at where Kiyomi, then turned back to her, with a slightly confused squint on his face, "How did you get on that side?"

"I walked over here while you were busy playing Mr. Martial Arts." She replied. She looked down at the kids on the ground, "How old are you?"

"17." One of them answered.

Oland began to pick them off the ground, "Come on, let's go. There is a business owner and a sheriff who are probably really excited to meet you."


	5. After All These Years

"When I got a call about some hooligans fighting in the street from one of the shop owners, how did I know I would find you here?" the Sheriff asked.

"What can I say? If there's a little excitement going on, I want to be in on it." Oland answered with a shrug.

"To be honest, I thought you were going to be on the other end, and I was going to be taking you in again." the Sheriff replied.

"I told you before, those days are beyond me." Oland said.

"That was last month, and regardless of what side you are on, you still manage to create a lot of paperwork I have to do." the Sheriff remarked, "Nice to see you again, Kiyomi." He tipped his hat and walked away.

"Sheriff." Kiyomi replied with a nod.

"Nice to see he is doing well for himself," Oland said after he walked away.

"So what exactly did he mean when he said 'again'?" Kiyomi asked.

Oland scoffed, "Like you have no clue. Half the time you were the one bailing me out."

"I know, I was just wondering if there were any I didn't know about. You've been arrested a lot in the last six years." Kiyomi said, "Let's see, there's been some theft charges, disturbing the peace, quite a few assault charges. What am I forgetting? Oh yeah... That assault from last month!"

"He started it!" Oland decided to change the subject, "The sheriff rose through the ranks fast."

"I know," Kiyomi agreed, "It seemed like just yesterday, he was the quiet kid in the back of the class."

"You know, he always had a crush on you." Oland remarked.

"What can I say? I'm quite a catch." She gloated.

"Keep bringing up my record, and you'll be 'catching' your own ride home." Oland said, as he walked off.

* * *

It was just starting to get dark when they got home. Oland and Kiyomi stepped out of the Satomobile.

"I'm just saying, there are some things you never say about a man's grandmother." Oland protested.

"Right." Kiyomi replied sarcastically, "That completely justifies you breaking a stool over his head."

"Like I said, he started it. I just finished it." Oland concluded.

Oland and Kiyomi sat down underneath a lantern on the front porch, and looked up at the stars.

"Oland," Kiyomi started, still staring at the stars, "You ever feel like you are destined for something more?"

"What do you mean?" Oland asked, as he stared down at the dust.

"I mean like.. you were meant to be something bigger. Something bigger than yourself. Apart of something bigger than all of us." She continued.

"You're dreaming again." Oland replied skeptically, "None of us are "special" or different from anyone else. We get up in the morning, we work hard, and every now and then we go into town and have a little fun. That's about all there is to life. You live it from day to day, do what you ever is needed to keep your family fed, then one day it all ends, and someone else picks it up, and the cycle repeats itself."

"I just... feel like you and I aren't where we were meant to be." Kiyomi continued.

"Well, if you figure out where we are meant to be, let me know." Oland finished.

"Sure..." Kiyomi said, as she got up and walked inside.

Oland stayed there for a minute, in silence. He looked up at the stars. Years ago, he'd seen an old mover by some Republic City guy. Something about a hero from the Southern Water Tribe, fighting a whole group of bad guys, called the Fearsome Four or something like that. At the end he became giant, and fought this giant spirit. Then the Queen of the Fairies showed up, and there was something about magic spirit dust, and long story short that spirit dust was the stars.

He never understood why so many of the old folks talked about spirits. They were never real. He looked up at the moon, and remembered hearing someone tell the story that the moon is the spirit of a princess from the Northern Water Tribe. Just another fairy-tell.

Oland thought about what Kiyomi said. Was he supposed to be something greater? He thought about it as he stared at the moon.

"Ok, 'spirits,' here I am. What am I supposed to be?" Oland said out-loud, mostly in jest.

He slightly laughed at his own foolishness, and got up and walked back inside. For half a second, he thought the moon got a little brighter, but brushed the idea off. Just his eyes playing tricks on him.

* * *

The airbending master sat in quiet meditation. Her breathing paused for a moment. She opened her eyes.

"Finally."


	6. Have you seen an earthbender?

Oland spent the next few days like he spent many others. Working and sleeping, then working and sleeping. It wasn't until late one evening, when he was coming in from slicing weeds with his swords all day, that he saw something he'd never seen before. He was walking into the house, when he was approached by an old man in a royal blue and white robe

"Um, Excuse me." the old man said, "You wouldn't happen to know where I can find a young earthbender by chance? Young adult, dark hair, dark eyes, somewhere around this high." He held his hand up, to show the height.

"You must be confused, friend. There aren't any earthbenders here." Oland answered, a little suspicious of why this old man was at his house looking for benders.

"No, no, I am sure she said..." The old man pulled a scroll out of his sleeve, and opened it, and his eyes opened wide.

He looked up, "You! You have to come with me now!"

He lunged to grabbed Oland's shirt, who quickly pushed him off,"Get off me you old fool, I'm not going anywhere."

The old man fell to the ground. He looked up, and slammed his fist into the ground, which began to move, sending a large wave sliding towards Oland, knocking him backwards. He drew his swords.

"Mister, if you're looking for trouble, I'm your man!." Oland shouted.

"Calm down and let me explain, if you'll just come with me..." The old man began.

"I'm not going anywhere with you, now I'm giving you one chance to leave on your own before this gets ugly." Oland interrupted.

"I can't leave." The old man replied.

"We'll see about." Oland said, as he charged.

As Oland was about to reach the old man, he bended a column out of the earth, sending him flying through the air away from Oland. As soon as he landed, he kicked the ground, as a large rock flew up. He kicked it, sending it hurtling towards Oland, who quickly dodged out of the way. Again, he began to move close to the old man, who bended a piece of earth into the shape of a sword, and began to fight with Oland. He moved quick for a man his age, and parried Oland swipe for swipe. The old man bended up a small piece of earth to try to trip Oland, but he was too well trained to fall for such a trap, quickly hopping over it.

The old man began to bend up large chunks of earth Oland, one right after another, who either dodged them, or broke them with a sword.

"Would you please just listen!" The old man pleaded, but Oland was having none of it, as he kept fighting.

Oland tried a few slashes at him, but the old man raised up columns that blocked the path of Oland's blades. As they started to get close to the house, Oland jumped against one of the walls, then pushed off it, doing a flip and landing behind the old man. The old man bended a large boulder in front of Oland, then crashed it into him, pushing him back into a fence. The old man lowered the boulder back into the ground, and Oland fell to his knees. He got back up and charged towards his opponent, but quickly stopped cold in his tracks.

"Enough!" The old man shouted, as he threw his arms forward, and the ground in between him and Oland turned to lava.

"What the..." Oland started.

"Now listen!" The old man shouted, "My name is Bolin. I am a member of the Order of the White Lotus, and I have been sent here to find you."

"Yeah? And why is that?" Oland asked, as he started to catch his breath.

"Because... Oland," The old man said, as his green eyes went a little misty, "You... are the Avatar."


	7. Stop Doing That

"Ok, I don't know who you think you are, or who you think I am, but let me make this clear. I am not a bender, and I'm definitely no four-element-bender, and whoever told you I was is wrong" Oland said.

"Nope... You are definitely the Avatar. Master Jinora said the spirits showed her where you are. She even drew a picture, see?" Bolin said, as he held up the scroll. It had a picture of someone who kind of looked like Oland.

"I'm telling you it's impossible." Oland protested.

"I'm sure you can bend." Bolin objected, "Here, bend this rock."

Bolin bended up a boulder and threw it Oland, who quickly dodged out of the way.

"Are you crazy?!" Oland screamed.

"You're doing it all wrong! Airbenders are the ones who move out of the way, something about a leaf, or something like that. Earthbenders need to stay rooted, stand your ground! And your stance is too close together, set your feet further apart, it helps you dig in better, a lot steadier." Bolin said, "Here, try it again."

Bolin sent another boulder at him, which Oland felt graze him, as he just barely moved out of the way.

"Would you stop doing that?" Oland shouted.

"You know when it comes time to learn airbending, you are going to be great at it. Unlike Korra, air gave her some trouble at first. She couldn't quite get the whole 'light on your feet thing' but you seem to be a natural at it." Bolin replied, "But earthbending is the opposite, you need to not do that. Get yourself dug in, stabilize your breathing, stand your ground, and stop the... HAA!"

Before Bolin finished his sentence, he sent another boulder at Oland, who was caught off guard by the surprise timing, and didn't have time to get out of the way. He shut his eyes, brought his arms up, dug his feet in, and braced for impact...

Then he opened his eyes and looked. The boulder had stopped, it was just levitating above the ground. He lowered his arms, and the boulder fell.

"There, you see? Earthbending. Now if you'll just come with me..." Bolin said.

"Look, I'm not going anywhere, old man." Oland replied.

"But you have to!" Bolin pleaded, "You're the Avatar! You have a duty to the world!"

"I don't even know what that means! All I have heard is a few folklores told by old people just trying to pass time." Oland argued.

Oland saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned and saw Kiyomi walking up on the scene. She stopped, with a confused look on her face as she looked around at all the torn up earth, giant boulders, and the cooled magma.

"What the heck happened here?" She asked.

Bolin looked over, with a happy expression, "Hey, glad you're here. I'm Bolin, with the White Lotus, and you're brother is the Avatar, could you explain to him why it is imperative that he comes with me right now, the world needs him, and he should have started training years ago, so we're a little behind schedule and really can't afford to waste any more time arguing about this." He blurted out really quickly.

Kiyomi's confused look increased, "You're who with the what and my cousin is who and needs to what for who how long ago?"

Bolin sighed, "Ok in order: Bolin, Order of the White Lotus, the Avatar, come with me for his training, about four years ago."

"Kiyomi paused, "...Ok?"

Oland decided to pitch in, "This crazy, old fool thinks I'm the 'Avatar'. You know that old myth the old timers talk about."

"Oland, I told you before, the Avatar is real. They're supposed to keep balance, order, and harmony in the word, and act as a bridge between our world and the spirit world. The last Avatar was a waterbender, so the next one in the cycle will be an earthbender."

"Thank you!" Bolin said, holding his hand up to gesture to Kiyomi.

"But my cousin isn't an earthbender." Kiyomi said, still a little confused.

"Yes he is! Watch!" Bolin said, as he turned and bended another piece of earth at Oland, who again wasn't ready, panicked, and stopped the rock.

"Holy platypus bear, my cousin is an earthbender." Kiyomi said, her eyes slightly wide in shock.

"Quit doing that!" Oland shouted.

"If Oland's the Avatar, why are you just now arriving?" Kiyomi asked.

"Well the problem with earth Avatars, is the Democratic Earth Nation is the largest nation n the world. There are small villages everywhere, and you guys are kind of out here on your own, like, really out here. The nearest town isn't on any of the maps, I actually found it by accident." Bolin explained, "So with all these little villages everywhere, and people being born everyday, we don't have the manpower to investigate every single baby, we miss some. Usually the next Avatar is born close to the same time the last one passes, but its hard to keep up. Korra wasn't discovered until she was a toddler who could walk and talk. It might've taken longer if she hadn't started earth and fire bending. Then to keep an already large number small, we only investigate young children, so when your cousin got older he was off the radar for good. We wouldn't have found him without the spirits."

"Look, I don't know what kind of prank you guys are trying to play, but it's not working. I may be an earthbender, but I'm not the Avatar, and I'm not going anywhere." Oland said, as he walked off. He wasn't sure where he was going, but he wasn't about to stay there


	8. Taking a walk

Oland walked down the street, pondering his life. An Avatar? Him? It was impossible. He continued to persuade himself that the Avatar was an old myth, but for the first time in his life, he didn't believe it as strongly as he had before.

So what if he was? He wasn't about to just dump his life, and run off to some far away place, to do who even knows what. He had work to do here. It wasn't glamorous work, filled with fame and glory, but it was his, and it needed to be done.

Perhaps he was being to hasty. From the stories he had heard, being the Avatar was a great honor. Oland had lived his entire life without any bending. He never even wanted it, but apparently, he'd been an earthbender this entire time. He was wondering how something like that could happen, then it occurred to him he'd never even really tried. He'd never had anyone to teach him how to use the ability.

Oland just needed some time to think.

* * *

Kiyomi sat with Bolin in the house, pouring a cup of tea. "I'm sorry for my cousin. He just doesn't understand the responsibility that's just been placed on his shoulders. Give him time, I'm sure he'll come around."

"It's alright." Bolin replied, "Truth be told, it actually went a bit better than I thought it would."

"He's a good guy." Kiyomi explained, "He cares more about the well-being of others than anyone I know. As soon as he learns just how much the world needs him..."

"The world will be fine if he needs a little time to get used to the idea. We've been without an Avatar for almost 20 years, and have been fine. Some of the people don't believe there is even a need for the Avatar anymore. The world has come a long way since the Hundred Year War." Bolin responded, with a hint of sadness in his voice.

"The world will always need its Avatar." Kiyomi reassured him.

* * *

After several hours, Oland finally returned home. He'd finally had enough time to blow off some steam. He was hoping that old man was gone, and he could get back to doing his thing without any more accusations of being an urban legend. As Oland walked up to the house, the door flung open and his mother stood in the doorway, with an excited look on her face.

"Oland! We just got the best news!" She grabbed him, and pulled him into the house, "Oland, this is Master Bolin of the White Lotus, and he says you're the Avatar!"

Oland started to feel his frustration rise as he saw Bolin again, "Yes... We already met, and as I already told him, mom, I'm not the Avatar."

"Oland, please." Bolin started, "If nothing else, at least allow me to help you master your earthbending. Once that is done, we can discuss what comes afterwards."

"No!" Oland objected, "No Avatar training, and no earthbending."

Oland's father decided to intervene, "Oland, I don't understand why you are in such denial of your abilities. The White Lotus is positive you are the Avatar, so why you continue to try and argue it is beyond me."

"So maybe I am the Avatar." Oland argued, "So what? I'm not going to throw my life away to go and train to be something I never asked to be. I don't want to be the Avatar."

"Oland, just let him teach you earthbending. What's it going to hurt." Kiyomi countered, "You have the ability, so why waste it? Why not learn to use it?"

Oland put his forehead in his palm and closed his eyes, and sighed, "Alright, fine. I'll do it."

"We'll start in the morning." Bolin stated.


	9. Trouble in the City

With several months of training, Oland had mastered all of the basics of earthbending. He'd gone from a beginner to a basic level earthbender. The training was tedious at times, but it wasn't anything too challenging for him to handle.

Oland was getting ready to head into to town and relax a little bit. For the last month, they'd been hearing word that a group of bandits had sprung up, and we're raiding towns all over the region. Supposedly there was a squad of Earth Nation soldiers out of Ba Sing Se in the process of tracking them down, but so far they've been running a cold trail. Oland wasn't sure if that was because the outlaws were just that slippery, or if the soldiers were too lazy and unmotivated to do their job. As he walked to the door, he picked up his swords.

"Why in the world do you still carry those things?" Bolin asked, "You're an earthbender now."

Oland brushed him off and kept walking. He and the old man still didn't quite see eye-to-eye. Bolin still refused to leave without Oland, who still refused to go anywhere. The Avatar Argument, as his cousin had started to call it, was something he had with the old man on almost a daily basis. Bolin swears that the Avatar has a duty to the world, Oland swears the world's been just fine without him.

Oland loaded into the Satomobile and drove into town.

* * *

He'd been hanging around with friends for a couple of hours when he decided to head home. As he was walking down the street, he began to hear the sounds of breaking glass. He went around the corner and saw a group of people tearing up and looting shops all up and down the street, grabbing whatever they could find of value.

Oland drew his swords and started running towards the bandits. One saw him coming, and stomped his foot into the ground, sending a wave of rock rolling towards Oland. He mimicked the bandit's movements, creating an identical rock wave which stopped the first one as they collided. He then leaped at the bandit, throwing a fast barrage of slashes while in the air. The bandit moved quick, just barely dodging each attack. Oland landed in a crouch, then did a spin-kick, knocking the bandit's feet out from under him. As the bandit began to fall, Oland punched the ground and sent a pillar of earth shooting upward into the center of the bandit's back. The bandit cried out and fell onto his side, laying there grunting from the heavy blow that had just stricken his spine.

Oland looked up and saw a large boulder flying through the air at him. He dug his heels into the ground and bent a large earth wall up to protect himself. The boulder shattered as it struck the wall, hitting with enough force to send Oland sliding back a few inches. He put the wall back in the ground and went moving towards the next closest bandit.

This one was a non-bender with a heavy chain that had a blade at the end of it. He swung it at Oland, who blocked it with his swords, then bent a spike of earth out and hit the bandit in the stomach. Oland then bent 3 more to the sides and back of the bandit, pinning him in place and leaving him unable to move.

Just as he finished, a metal bar hit him in the back of the head. Oland stumbled a few steps forward, a little dizzy, then turned around to see a girl with a long staff. She started swinging at him again. Oland used his swords to block the attacks, and took a few of his own. They were both quick, and the sound of metal clanging together was loud and fast. With he swing Oland took, she was right there to block it. She took a quick jab that caught Oland in the stomach. He made a quick counter slash up towards the side of her head, and saw the hairs fly off as she just barely avoided it. They continued their dance of attacks and blocks. Oland could not find an opening to strike. He kept striking all over the place, left.. right... up... She managed to block every time. Oland began to move forward, pushing the bandit back. As they walked, he bent a small piece of earth up behind her foot, causing her to trip. He jumped, preparing to deliver an air strike, when he was hit in the side with a large piece of earth, knocking him out of the air sideways. He rolled as he hit the ground, and his swords flew out of his hands.

He looked up and saw that the other bandits had all taken a break from looting, and were joining the fight. Before Oland could get up, he was hit with another piece of earth, which slammed him against the wall of one of the shops. There were way too many for him to handle on his own. He started to stand up when a pillar of earth sprang up out of the ground and hit him in the face, sending him back down. Some of the bandits ran over and began kicking him in the ribs and face over and over again. The only thing Oland could do was bend a rock dome over himself to give him a few seconds of protection from his attackers.

Shards of earth began striking the dome, slowly breaking it apart. Oland began to feel himself be overtaken by fear. He was heavily outnumbered, and his barrier of rocks wouldn't hold for long.

With each strike beating away at it, the rock dome finally broke apart, leaving Oland exposed to his attackers. He quickly rolled out of the way of a wave of attacks, only to be hit by the full force of the second wave.

As he was struck with rocks of all shapes and sizes, both big and small, he let out a cry of agony, as his eyes began to glow white.


	10. The Power Unleashed

It felt like a dream. It was weird. Oland was him, but it was like he wasn't him. Like he was standing next to himself, watching as someone else danced around in his body. His body moved on its own, like a puppet. He had no control.

A strong wind began rushing down the street, and Oland slowly began to raise off the ground, floating in a vortex of air circling around him. He opened his mouth, and a large furry of fire flew out at the bandits. They all dropped to the ground, the flames singed their hair. He raised his arms, and a geyser of water shot out of a nearby sewer. Oland bent the water down the street, sending the bandits rushing away in a tsunami. As they were carried halfway down the street, Oland dropped to the ground and bent a large stone wall up, which the bandits were slammed against.

As the water stopped, bandits slowly stood up, and began to run off to whichever hole they had crawled out of. Oland slowly began to come back to himself, and then collapsed on the ground, unconscious.

Oland woke several hours later in his home. He could feel every blow he'd taken in the fight. He slowly began to sit up, grunting from how much that simple action hurt.

"Easy... Easy..." a voice instructed him, "You've been through a lot."

He looked up and saw the old man sitting across the room from him.

"How did I get here?" he grunted through his teeth, as he rubbed the back of his head, trying to get the throbbing to stop.

"The sheriff brought you home." his cousin answered, as she stood in the doorway.

"Tell me the last thing you remember." Bolin said.

Oland had to think for a second, "There were some bandits tearing up the place. The last thing I remember was getting the dirt kicked out of me. After that it's a blank." He answered, "What happened?"

"Son," Bolin answered with a slight grin, "You opened up power you couldn't even begin to understand."


	11. Lazy Writing

Oland rubbed his forehead.

"Ok, run me through it one more time." He said.

"It's called the Avatar State," Bolin stated, "It's the strongest and most powerful ability that the Avatar can invoke is the Avatar State. It was created when Avatar Wan permanently bonded with Raava by touching the energy coming through the spirit portal during the Harmonic Convergence in 9,829 BG. It allows the Avatar to channel vast cosmic energies and the knowledge of previous Avatars, granting them superhuman strength and allowing for the ability to perform especially powerful and extraordinary feats of bending. The Avatar may unconsciously enter the State in response to perception of mortal danger, utilizing the State as a defense mechanism, or emotional distress."

"Go on." Oland said, trying to keep up.

"While in the State, the Avatar has access to bending techniques that may have not yet been learned in their current lifetime, but has no conscious control over the resulting actions, which can cause great collateral damage." Bolin explained, "An Avatar with full mastery of the Avatar State has conscious control over the State and can enter and exit it at will. It was by entering the Avatar State reflexively that Avatar Aang was able to freeze himself inside an iceberg for a hundred years by using a combination of airbending and waterbending. He did not physically age at all during the century, as he was in suspended animation, but it took a great physical toll on his body after being in the Avatar State for such an extended period of time."

"So I was connected with every previous Avatar?" Oland asked.

"Not exactly." Bolin answered, "While fighting during the last Harmonic Convergence, the connection between Avatar Korra and Ravaa was broken, ending the Avatar cycle and cutting all connections to the previous Avatars. At the peak of the Convergence, Korra formed a new bond with Ravaa the same way Wan had in the beginning, creating a new Avatar cycle, that you are now apart of."

Oland was finally beginning to understand it a small amount. Not perfectly, but he was starting to get it.

"Really, you're just connected to Korra. When you think about it, she was the last Avatar, and the first one. Making you the second Avatar." Bolin continued. "It's like, there's these two mountains. All the Avatars are standing on this mountain here, and you and Korra are standing on the other mountain, separated from all the previous Avatars."

"Well, why is the connection broken?" Oland asked, "I mean, technically this Ravaa left the body of each Avatar when they died, and connected with a new one, yet maintained a connection with the old ones. So just because she left Korra's body, I don't see why that would break the connection to the others."

"But you're forgetting that Ravaa was destroyed before rejoining Korra." Bolin explained.

"But earlier you said neither Ravaa nor Vattu could be truly destroyed, they would re-emerge from within the other, and it's not like it's a different light spirit. It's still Ravaa, exact same knowledge and memories."

Bolin stopped to think, "You know when you mention that, it really doesn't make that much sense. It almost sounds like some flimsy plot-cover in a kid story, so the writers can create challenges for the character, without having to explain why she can't use the previous lives to figure out the problems easily, and also it allows them to make their character loose fights even in the Avatar State. With a connection to millions of lifetimes, there would be enough power that would be impossible to stop, but one person on their own with nothing but an increase in spirit energy wouldn't be so tough."

Oland smirked, "That sounds like some pretty lazy writing."


	12. The Court

Far away in the city of Ba Sing Se, under the shadows of night, hooded men and women in cloaks snuck through the streets. Avoiding the lights, jumping from rooftop to rooftop, and sliding down back alleys. All arriving at an old, abandoned building. They crept around back, and bending the wall to reveal a secret passageway.

Inside, a man sat in front of a large fire, which was the only light source in the room, causing it to be dimly lit. The outer edges of the room were completely shrouded in darkness.

As the cloaked figures began to gather into the room, the man spoke, "Welcome my brothers and sisters." his grizzled voice croaked.

"Greetings, Grand Master." they replied in unison.

"I apologize for assembling the Court on such a short notice, but you know I wouldn't disturb you if it wasn't important." he stated, "My spies in the White Lotus have informed me that after all these years, they have finally located the new Avatar."

"They have said this before," a woman scoffed.

"Yes, but this time I personally made sure the claims were valid." the Grand Master replied, "Nothing too extravagant mind you. I just hired a band of thugs to go smash up the place. We don't want to draw any attention to this little fan club of ours."

"The Court of Tui has been a secret society since before the 100 year war. To the rest of the world, we are nothing more than an urban legend." a man in the back stated.

"And our ancestors worked so hard to ensure that," the Grand Master said, "Surely you do not wish to destroy everything this court has spent generations working to create by making ourselves front page news? Why that would pretty much be spitting on the graves of your forefathers!"

The room was silent. Not a word was spoken.

"I thought not," the Grand Master continued, "The Avatar is in a small, backwater village far west of here. Court members operating in the area have confirmed that he is there."

He smirked underneath his hood, "According to our Operatives, my bandits almost killed him. A missed opportunity, I'm afraid, but there will be others."

"How does this effect our plans, Grand Master?" someone asked.

"If we are smart, and quick... it won't. " he answered, "Avatars have been defeated in the past. This one barely knows earthbending. The longer we wait, the more bending he will learn, and the stronger he will become. If we get to him before all that... well... it would just be like fighting any other bender."

"Have you informed The Elder? She is the oldest and wisest member of the Court. She will know how to proceed." one of the men stated.

"My mother doesn't need to be concerned with such matters." the Grand Master replied, "I have the situation well in hand. We will fix all the mistakes Avatar Korra made, and solve the problems she never did."

* * *

Oland sat studying the scrolls. He did it to humor the old man. Bolin said that it would help him understand his duties as the Avatar if he studied some parts of the lives of the previous Avatars. It was mostly the highlights. The farther back he went, the less there was. There was quite a bit on Korra, and an airbending Avatar named Aang.

Then there were some scrolls on a firebender named Roku, and an earthbender named Kiyoshi. It was a full cycle.

"I don't see the point in studying some of this." Oland complained, "Parts of this were taught in my history classes. Some parts aren't even that old. I already knew that Earth King Wu disbanded the monarchy of the Earth Kingdom and established the Democratic Earth Nation, led by a council, similar to the one the United Republic originally used before turning to a President for leadership."

"You're focusing on the wrong parts," Bolin said, "The actual history is irrelevant. I want you to focus on the Avatar's part throughout all of it. Clearly your school classes never taught that part."

"No, they didn't." Oland answered. "So a couple of questions, starting with the records on the Republic City Crime War. It doesn't have a lot about Korra, but it keeps mentioning this guy named Mako."

Bolin's eyes turned cold, "He was my brother, and the first member Team Avatar lost. It was only 10 years after the conflict with Kuvira. Chief Beifong launched a campaign against the Triads. She wanted all the organized crime cleaned out of the city before she retired. Korra was around at times to help, but she spent most of the time in the other nations, she'd felt like she'd spent too much time in Republic City, and was neglecting all the other towns in the United Republic, and all the other nations."

Oland set his scrolls aside to listen to the story.

"Towards the end, it was clear the Triad Factions were going to lose the war, and they knew it." Bolin continued, "They took to the streets in one last, final assault against Republic City's police. They let it all hang out. It seemed like the entire city was on fire. There wasn't a safe street. When the Triad's started marching through the streets, their leaders were at the front of the pack. I knew we were in trouble. They'd never done their own dirty work before. They always hung back and let others do it for them. Now here they were, leading the Triad's down the street. Small conflicts erupted all around the city, but the biggest fight happened right in the center of Avatar Korra Park, where the Triad's and their leaders faced off against the best Republic City had to offer, and right at the heart of the conflict, was Mako. I stood by his side at the beginning, but at the end... only one of us walked away."

Bolin looked down, "He didn't make it."


	13. Who was the real bad guy?

Oland couldn't believe what he'd just heard. He barely knew this old man, and he barely knew Oland, yet here he was, telling him about one of the hardest days in his life.

After a long wait, Bolin finally looked up at him, "What else would you like more information about?"

"Well..." Oland started, "Reading through the personal records Korra left, she repeatedly mentions this person named Asami Sato, I've heard the name before, but I've yet to see any death records in these scrolls."

"Asami is still around somewhere." Bolin stated.

"So where is she?" Oland asked.

"I don't know," Bolin answered, "Once Korra was gone, so was she. Never said anything to any of us. She just disappeared."

"That's a little odd." Oland replied.

"Yeah, well..." Bolin smirked, "I never really trusted Asami."

"What do you mean?" Oland asked, curious.

"Look over those scrolls," Bolin said, "She started off as the rich daughter of an Equalist leader. Sure she always played dumb when it came to her father... but I don't know... sometimes I got the feeling it was all a smoke cover to make sure their family kept control of the company that produced a lot more war machines than most."

"I'm not sure about all that," Oland said, "Korra obviously never suspected anything."

"Her and Korra were pretty close, and I mean really close." Bolin stated.

"Oh," Oland said, as he understood where this conversation was going, "What was that like?"

"About what you would expect." Bolin answered, "She wasn't the first Avatar. Most people were accepting of it, some were rather critical, but those people slowly died out over time and joined those who accepted it. It was always a favorite topic of her critiques, but those blood sucker would go after her with whatever they could."

"It doesn't sound like Asami was up to anything." Oland commented.

"Of course it doesn't. It was planned like that." Bolin retorted, "I don't really believe in coincidences, and there are quite a few in Asami Sato's life. After the Avatar made an appearance on the Fire-Ferrets, Asami just so happens to be driving by exactly when Mako gets off work, and 'accidently' hits him. I mean really? The daughter of the guy who invented the Satomobile is getting around on a vehicle so small that it wont injure someone who gets hit by it, and what was the rich girl doing on that part of town anyways? So she runs him over, and almost immediately she recognizes him and it's 'I'm sorry I ran you over, let's go on a date'. Then next thing you know, they're a serious couple. Their relationship moved really quickly. They'd barely been dating, when she is getting her father to sponsor the team in the championship, paying our expenses out of pocket. And when the bending arena closes, she immediately invites us into her house. Like I said, things moved quickly. Then when she starts getting close to Korra, and her and Mako start having relationship problems. Fast forward to when Mako and Korra start having relationship problems, and Asami is right there."

"So you're saying Asami was just trying to manipulate Korra?" Oland asked.

"Can you think of anyone better to manipulate than the Avatar?" Bolin replied, "I think manipulation was Asami's specialty. I'm willing to bet she had her hand in a lot more than Korra ever realized."

"But at the end of the day, you don't know any of this for certain." Oland said.

"Trust me, if I had found any evidence that could prove it, I would've shown it to everybody." Bolin replied. "There is one thing I do know. We fought a lot mecha tanks in our time, and there was only one company that had the blueprints to build them. Now with everything that happened, I don't think the goals were Asami's, but I know that she sure benefited along the way in some form. When the Water Tribe Civil War began, the North invades with her mecha tanks, then she's trying to provide them to the South. She is selling equipment to one side, then giving it to the other so they have someone to fight."

"She didn't know the Water Tribe was going to start a hostile take over against itself." Oland argued.

"Well maybe I'd believe it if the Northern Water Tribe was our only enemies coming to the party in Asami's tanks." Bolin countered, "Not too long after, when Korra is telling Mako and I about her confrontation with Hundun, she keeps mentioning fighting Equalists, Triads, and mecha tanks in Republic City, in the South, and in the spirit world. The next war the breaks out is when Kuvira's Earth Empire is taking over the Earth Kingdom, and once again the 'bad guys' are coming at us in mecha tanks, but that's fine... because Asami is more than happy to provide the United Republic with mecha tanks."

"This is starting to sound familiar," Oland agreed.

Bolin nodded, "No kidding. You know what the cherry on top is? Every time there's a big fight in Republic City, Asami always gets the contract to rebuild the city. Think about that for a minute. Asami got paid for her company rebuilding a city that was destroyed by an army that she got paid for her company building weapons for... she is making money at every possible angle."

Oland was still skeptical, "So it was all a big conspiracy."

"I don't know. It seems so often when we were going up against a powerful warlord, the Triads and Future Industries, and occasionally the Equalists always ended up involved with the other side. With how often those all came together, I can't help but feel like they were all involved with something much bigger." Bolin replied, "Sometimes you can't help but wonder if the people you were fighting were the real bad guys."

His eyes got a little misty, "Sometimes... you get the feeling that the real bad guys got away with everything."


End file.
